A variety of locking mechanisms exist for preventing unauthorised access to an enclosure such as a room, locker, cabinet and the like. Typically, such locking mechanisms employ a mechanical locking means that secures a door in position within an access space to the enclosure, with the locking mechanism being activated and deactivated by a key or the like, which is typically carried by an authorised person(s).
Such keys have traditionally been in the form of a mechanical key that is shaped to be inserted into an appropriate keyhole formed in the door that is turned to activate/deactivate the locking mechanism. More recently, the use of keypads and other electrical identification means, have removed the need for mechanical keys to be carried by authorised persons to activate the enclosure, as authorised persons have typically been able to enter a password or code into an associated keypad to access the enclosure.
Traditionally, the locking mechanism is often provided separately to the door handle. The door handle has thus traditionally been a relatively passive device that merely provides a gripping means for a user to open the door. Hence, it has often been necessary to separately activate/deactivate the locking mechanism after/before the door has been closed/opened. Whilst such arrangements have proven effective where there is sufficient space on the door to accommodate a handle and a locking means, in many cabinets and the like, such as switchgear cabinets used in switching distribution centres such as telephone exchanges, there is limited space available and as such there is a need to provide a simple system that can function as both a locking mechanism and a handle to permit access of the cabinet only to authorised individuals.
The above references to and descriptions of prior proposals or products are not intended to be, and are not to be construed as, statements or admissions of common general knowledge in the art. In particular, the above prior art discussion does not relate to what is commonly or well known by the person skilled in the art, but assists in the understanding of the inventive step of the present invention of which the identification of pertinent prior art proposals is but one part.